country: [13] Etymologically, the meaning of country is virtually ‘surroundings’. It originated in medieval Latin contrātus ‘lying on the opposite side’, an adjective formed from the proposition contrā ‘against, opposite’. This was used in the phrase terra contrāta ‘land opposite or before one, spread out around one’, and soon broke free to act as a noun in its own right.
In Old French it became cuntree, the form in which it was borrowed into English. Its original notion of ‘area of land’ had quickly become narrowed down to ‘district controlled or occupied by a particular people’, hence ‘nation’, but its use for ‘rural areas as opposed to cities’ does not seem to have developed until the 16th century. The compound countryside originated in Scotland and northern England, probably in the 17th century.
country (n.)
mid-13c., "district, native land," from Old French contree, from Vulgar Latin *(terra) contrata "(land) lying opposite," or "(land) spread before one," from Latin contra "opposite, against" (see contra-). Sense narrowed 1520s to rural areas, as opposed to cities. Replaced Old English land. As an adjective from late 14c. First record of country-and-western music style is from 1942. Country club first recorded 1886. Country mile "a long way" is from 1915, American English.
雙語例句
1. Many areas in the country'sinterior are unable to report Aids cases immediately.
該國內地的很多地區無法即時報告艾滋病病例。
來自柯林斯例句
2. The country's economic plight is strangling its scientific institutions.
該國的經濟困境阻礙了其科研機構的工作進展。
來自柯林斯例句
3. The rail strike is causing major disruptions at the country's ports.
鐵路罷工使該國港口陷入了一片混亂。
來自柯林斯例句
4. It is hard to get hold of guns in this country.
在這個國家里要搞到槍支是很困難的。
來自柯林斯例句
5. Nuclear weapons plants across the country are heavily contaminated with toxic wastes.